About Wry

Some of the posts are for students, and others are written for host families. Feel free to post comments. Email me at WryExchange at gmail dot com. This blog isn't updated. I have retired from high school exchange volunteering, but some of the information may still be relevant.
Former About Wry: I try to help our world, one person at a time, as a volunteer for High School Foreign Exchange Students. I have depression, DID, and ADD. My thoughts are non-linear, my memory sucks, and I'm snarky.

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The New York bus trip went really well. We lucked out with the weather. It rained in the morning before we left the bus, and resumed once we got back on late at night. No runaways, no meltdowns, no ERs, and no police involvement.

I didn’t realize I should’ve been the fashion police bus inspector. It was a damp, chilly, grey day. Girls got off the bus in flipflops, wispy short-sleeved tops, and no sweater. Boys wore shorts, or just t-shirts. One girl wore shorts with host. When I saw them at 11:00pm, they had new jackets, hoodies, and Converses. Their hands, arms, and legs were red from the cold.

We had far fewer phone calls this time than ever, and only 2 students needed attitude adjustments. Fixed threatened with a few phone calls, and nothing in person.

I know I run a good trip-the chaperones thanked me as they left the bus and again via email. That’s right. The CHAPERONES thanked ME. They slept 2 nights on a bus, and walked around Manhattan for 15 hours. They HURT. I passed out Advil and blister Band-Aids on the bus. I think we gave everything so the kids could have a great day, and collapsed once back on the bus. I slept most of Sunday and Monday, and still have a few sore spots today. Mine’s just muscle strain, others had horrible blisters. The adults all hurt in different places.

The groups were all lined up and ready for the bus to come. early. all of them. Tells you how tired they were. The bus was so quiet on the way home. People were out before we were in Jersey.

Husband and I policed the bus after the students were dropped off. We found a pillow, large graphing calculator, a pair of men’s underwear, headphones, nice heavy hoodie, large bottle of shampoo, and a girls shirt. Not to bad, actually.

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I would count that a success! Congrats! I get to do this the end of April, except it’s 4 nights/5 days. I think the kids think it’s a marathon to see if they can stay up for ~96 hours straight. The first thing I warn them about is that chaperones get REALLY cranky after midnight…

Ipods and PDAs are wonderful for trips. The kids were very quiet on the way to New York. Most of them shared earbuds, played games, or watched videos. We had lots of little flashing lights against the windows. festive.